The song was moving and beautiful, though still sad because it was a song of loss. The blight had been defeated, yes, but at what cost? Arduinna had been a woman of great power and great knowledge, an intrinsic part of the Greatwood, and now she would remain forever rooted to one spot like her beloved trees. She had given her life to save them all, and the white fox bowed his head in sorrow as the song finished.
So many lost in the past year. How many more, before the final week of the year ended? He uncoiled his sinuous, furred body and rose, offering the songstress a canine bow for her talents and the cheer she had brought to the Hall for the evening, a chance to forget the fear that paced and chittered outside the doors and windows.
But the songs were over and the night crept back in, and Jigano turned to catch his lantern's handle in his jaws and padded back to the room that held the bodies to continue his deathwatch, preferring the quiet of the dead to the company of the living for now.
So many lost in the past year. How many more, before the final week of the year ended? He uncoiled his sinuous, furred body and rose, offering the songstress a canine bow for her talents and the cheer she had brought to the Hall for the evening, a chance to forget the fear that paced and chittered outside the doors and windows.
But the songs were over and the night crept back in, and Jigano turned to catch his lantern's handle in his jaws and padded back to the room that held the bodies to continue his deathwatch, preferring the quiet of the dead to the company of the living for now.
